Why I Walked Away from Goyard (and Love Fauré Le Page)

Still chugging along with No Shop January here, despite a small hiccup. Mel and I are talking about summer travel, so it might mean that I will have to extend No Shop January to the Spring to save money for the summer.

No Shop January is teaching me to hold off on that impulse and love what I have in the closet before I run out to get another sweater of the same style (or that fourth tissue turtleneck, when three are perfectly fine).

On the other side of the spectrum, there are times when you want to save your money for a really big item, say to celebrate a milestone, or to get an investment piece. For me, that's luxury French bags. It sounds silly, but I call them Fancy French Bags (FFBs). I love the dedication to quality, the craftsmanship and the heritage behind it.

Call me a history nerd (I kinda have to be considering I'm a Social Studies teacher!), but I have a lot of fun digging into the backgrounds and inspiration behind luxury French houses, such as Louis Vuitton's origins as a trunkmaker.

For example, he was the official packer and trunkmaker of Empress Eugenie, Napoleon's wife! The Alma bag was first made for Coco Chanel, and Audrey Hepburn inspired the Speedy.

Part of me turning 35 included a reevaluation of what my personal style is like and what I want to do with it. Hence donating about 1/4 of it and thinking carefully about investment pieces during the Black Friday sales, and following that, committing to No Shop January to maximize what I own.

But there comes a time, I think, (maybe? anyone besides me think this?) in a woman's life when she wants to streamline what she owns and get quality pieces (with a good warranty, to boot).

And that can include a luxury handbag. Or in my case, a tote bag.

Are they expensive? Oh goodness, yes.

Are they worth it? Well, that depends on your perspective.

If I was going to do a (nerve-wracking!) big purchase like this, I wanted to make my money and the bag work for me. 

I always ask myself a bunch of questions on whether a purchase will work with my current lifestyle, clothes I have and if it either fills a hole, is supplemental or replaces something in my closet (something I am doing with a lot more care thanks to No Shop January - while I had the hiccup, I only focused on that piece and did not add anything else to my cart), works with my job, activities I do, and try and do a cost-benefit analysis. Part of the streamlining including giving my sister 3 bags that I just don't use anymore.

As I was finishing up my Educational Leadership program back in October, I wanted to get myself a graduation gift. To me, that meant, a Goyard bag. The St. Louis PM in Navy, to be exact. It meant completion of a difficult program and that I was able to save for it.

I saw the bag at the Goyard store in San Francisco on a trip for a friend's wedding two summers ago; there isn't a stockist in the Denver area, so I took at as an opportunity to do some in-person research on it. I had no intention of purchasing it, but rather to see what the fuss was about and maybe, start saving for one.

Source: Fauré Le Page

Then I came across another French company with a heritage as long as Goyard's in the PurseBlog forums: Fauré Le Page. The origins of the company date to 1717 when they were the armorer of the nobility and also extended to making bags for said arms; in the mid 2000s, it got a reboot as a handbag and accessories company with an homage to its background as part of its unique take on bags.

They were just about to open a store in Singapore, right around the time I was going. The store is located in Takashimaya, the same department store that Singapore's Goyard location is. Moreover, they had a comparable tote to the St. Louis PM: the Daily Battle Tote.

I spent so much time researching the price, currency conversion, tax refund and credit card fees to determine the cost of the bags (there was a lot of math and currency stalking especially when the calculations proved that the Goyard tote was cheaper in Singapore compared to the States), as well as forums on the wear and tear on both bags in the long term. 

In the end, I walked away from Goyard, for the second time. 

I wasn't totally sold on it when I saw the bag in San Francisco, and tried to convince myself otherwise. Seeing the Daily Battle only confirmed that. This isn't to say that it is a poorly made bag; lots of other people have blogged about it and love it. It just wasn't for me.

I wasn't looking for a work tote, but rather a tote that I can use on the weekends, so I could go a little smaller; I have never even carried a diaper bag, even when Julian was small, preferring to use bags like the Longchamp Le Pliage.

Hence, I was considering the PM for the Goyard tote and actually going for the size 32 for the Daily Battle. I also wanted more of a "special color" if I went for the Goyard, which costs more (for what reason, I have no idea).  I also already have a tote in black, so it was pointless to go for another in black.

We went to the Fauré Le Page store first to check out the Daily Battle. Mel was the most patient person ever, keeping Julian busy while I stood with the sales associates at both stores and just stared at the bags, took out the contents of the tote bag that I currently have, complete with the base shaper, and put it all in both the St. Louis and Daily Battle to see how it would work with what I carry.

Then I was at the Goyard store, holding the St. Louis PM and looking at the pochette, trying to do the math in my head and just felt that it was so flimsy, and not worth the money I saved. Yes, it is designed to be more of a beach bag. But I also wanted something durable. I put the base shaper in the bottom of the bag and it was so awkward on my body. I just did not have a good feeling about it.

Again, your mileage may vary, since I am only talking about the St. Louis PM.

So we went back upstairs to Fauré Le Page, and I walked out with the Daily Battle 32 in Navy, and the Pochette 19 in Hot Sand for the same price as the Goyard. Given that the Pochette is a wristlet, I was getting two bags for the price of one.

So why do I love the Daily Battle?

BASE: It has leather corners for added durability (it is also made of screenprinted canvas like a Goyard tote) and there is corded trim in leather around it which gives the bag structure. It cannot stand up 100% on its own like a Epi Neverfull, but there is a little bit of structure.

COLOR/SIZE: I did not have to pay an extra price for getting it in navy. The colors are more muted than Goyard, but there is something about the navy with the yellow (I also loved the green) that made it special. There are also 5 sizes to choose from (the closest to the Neverfull size is 37, but I had a tote that size already; a Neverfull MM base shaper does fit both the 32 and the 37).

CANVAS: Except for Hot Sand (which is more a light pink) the bags are lined in a darker color, as opposed to Goyard which is white. I am a teacher and have a toddler. Try as I might, there will be a pen mark or some other stain in my future and I would rather not see it. Moreover, the canvas is thicker than Goyard, so it felt sturdier.

HARDWARE: It is GORGEOUS. There is no hardware on the St. Louis. And there are elements (like the embossing of the leather pocket, logo on the side of the buckles) that show attention to detail. I recently discovered that the buckles have that thin clear protective plastic over it, and I still haven't peeled it off yet because it is so subtle and I figured the longer it stays on there, the longer the hardware keeps its shine.

STRAPS: Adjustable! I can shorten them to make the bag go over my arm like a purse, or lengthen them to make it more of a tote. Since I got the 32, shortening the straps to make it more like a big purse doesn't make it look strange. The construction of the bag and reviews from PurseBlog showed me that it was pretty durable.

LEATHER: There is a leather pocket inside and aforementioned leather trim and corners.

COST: Like I said, I also got the Pochette, which was within budget since the budget was for the Goyard since I like the idea of having a smaller bag inside for daily essentials. It also offered me more customization; I could have gone with navy, but I also really like the Hot Sand color, but was worried about stains and dirt.

Getting the pochette fulfilled the whim for the Hot Sand, but I am not going to worry about a tote bag in the color showing stains. If I went for the DB 37, the pochette would not have happened.

Obviously it is way cheaper in France, but should the day come that I do get to Paris, I would love to get the Parade Soft 23 in Green. Their website does not have many photos, but I've read you can email the SAs at the Paris stores to get a catalog and more pictures as well as place an online order, since the website is a recent addition.

RARITY: There are no stockists in the States. If you see a Daily Battle (and I have seen the DB 37 in Green in Beverly Hills) its usually because it was purchased overseas, or through online order via the website or the SAs (which is with French pricing, less taxes, but I was worried about customs duties). I have seen Goyards here and there in Denver, and everywhere in NYC. Neverfulls are all over the place (but not the Epi).

As a result of the rarity, however, repairs are not that easy to come by, so I take extra care of it. I do use it for work since it holds what I need, but on occasion.

I have an extra purse box from when I took my Epi Neverfull to the LV store in Denver for a repair and store it with tissue inside to keep the shape along with using the dustbags for both the Daily Battle and the Pochette; the leather of the Neverfull was peeling off the strap and when the sales associate learned I had the bag for less than a year, she replaced it with a BRAND NEW BAG (complete with the pochette! I gave it to my mom). Now that is a warranty. Strap replacement is easy and (relatively) affordable too with Louis Vuitton, so that bag is my workhorse.

But the Daily Battle, that is extra special.